The Christmas Lass
by Bremol
Summary: A storm moves in and Richard finds himself lost. Elsie sees a young lass but...is she or isn't she there? And how do the two events coincide?
1. Part 1

**A/N: A bit of Richard/Elsie at Christmas time. This chapter finds them involved in a bit of smut lol. This should only have three parts, which I hope to have posted before Christmas, though I won't promise anything with the way things are going.**

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><p>Elsie woke with a moan, stretching and pushing her breast further into the hand currently fondling it. Her backside pressed into her husband's lower body, causing her to moan again at the feel of him hard against her.<p>

Richard shivered at the sound of his wife's sleep gravely voice murmuring words in the Gaelic, words that burned through him, setting his blood to burning. "Lass," he murmured as he lifted her leg, settling her into a more comfortable position before smoothing his hand down over her ribs to the hem of her nightdress to push it up, his fingers gentle as he touched the sensitive flesh at the apex of her thighs.

Elsie's fingers clasped at Richard's arm, whimpering when he gently thrust his middle finger between the wet folds of her center. She could feel her toes curl as the familiar warmth of arousal spread through her. Reaching her arm up and back, she tangled her fingers in his hair. "Mo chéile," she moaned. "Please."

Never able to deny his wife anything, Richard moved his fingers in just the right way to give her the release her body craved. Kissing her neck and nuzzling his nose into her mussed hair, he waited for her body to calm.

"Richard." Elsie murmured when her breathing calmed. Wiggling her lower body against his, she tugged at his hand. "More."

"Bossy," he murmured before thrusting his hips forward, groaning when the wet heat of her surrounded him.

Elsie pressed further back, readjusting herself to get the best angle. It wasn't often he took her this way, but she always enjoyed it when he did. "Oh," she gasped when Richard's hand moved up to knead her breast, his fingers tweaking the taut nipple through the cotton of her nightdress. "Mmm," she hummed.

Richard grunted as he moved against her, his heart pounding, his mind whirling with the sounds of his wife's sultry voice crying out words in the Gaelic that spurred him on.

Elsie felt the pleasure building again, her body moving of its own accord. Her muscles clenched and released, the words tumbling from her mouth incoherent and mixed with whimpers and moans. Then she was tumbling over the edge, her cry echoing around them, dimming just as Richard's shout filled the space as he trembled against her, body damp from their exertions.

Richard rested limply against Elsie, their bodies spooned as they slowly came down from their climaxes. He was thankful that his sister's home was well built and that her room wasn't right next to the one he and Elsie were sharing. He knew he should be embarrassed that they'd gotten so carried away, but he found that he didn't care – at least as long as he kept telling himself no one had heard them.

"Richard." Elsie whispered as she turned in his arms to look up at him. "What if they heard us?"

Richard chuckled at that, not in the least bit surprised that his wife's thoughts he been the same as his. "I'm sure they didn't. I don't think we were that loud, and," he shrugged as he caressed her face. "I don't care. If they heard us, Lorna will know that I love my wife and am happy. At least that's what I keep telling meself."

Elsie blushed even as she smiled. "Daft man," she mumbled. Rolling with him when Richard moved to lay on his back, she sighed as she settled on his chest. "I love the way you woke me this morning, Mo chéile," she whispered before pressing a kiss to his chest.

"You say that every morning, Mo bhean." Richard chuckled.

Elsie wrinkled her nose at him as she gently tapped his chest. "Ach," she mumbled.

Squeezing her, Richard pressed a kiss to her head then yawned. "I think a few more hours of sleep is in order."

His yawn contagious, Elsie yawned then snuggled into a more comfortable spot. "Mmm, yes. More sleep."

RnE

Three hours later found Richard and Elsie walking hand in hand into the kitchen, a smiling Lorna greeting them with a knowing twinkle in her eyes.

"Good morning."

"Morning." Richard returned her greeting as he bent to press a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm sorry we missed Sean."

"He'll be back shortly. I didn't have as many eggs as I thought."

Richard chuckled, "I could have done without, Sis."

"Nonsense, Richie."

"Lorna." Richard frowned at his sister.

"Yes?" Lorna asked with a raised eyebrow. "Don't tell me Elsie doesn't know your nickname."

"A nickname I grew out of," Richard snarled his nose. "Well, you know how long ago," he huffed.

Elsie laughed and patted his arm. "Oh let her have her way, Mo chéile. A sister should be able to call her little brother whatever she likes."

Richard squeezed Elsie and rolled his eyes. "Mo bhean, you're supposed to be on my side."

Elsie wrinkled her nose at him. "She's your sister."

Richard smiled and pressed a kiss to Elsie's head. "Fine then," he agreed then looked at Lorna. "But only when it's us."

"Richie, I've never called you anything other than Richard around people outside the family." Lorna scolded gently even as she smiled at the couple. She was happy to see the two of them so very much in love with each other.

"Lorna?" Elsie asked, smiling when the woman blushed at being caught staring.

"Sorry, Lass. I was just thinking about how happy I am to see the two of you so in love."

Elsie blushed as she looked up at Richard. "I'm very happy myself."

Richard wrapped his arm around Elsie's shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. "And I'm very thankful that I have two such beautiful women that love me. Now," he looked at Lorna. "Tea?"

Elsie and Lorna laughed as the older woman stood up and moved around the table to go put another kettle on for fresh tea.

"I could have done that, Lorna." Elsie told her as she and Richard sat down at the table.

Lorna turned to look at her sister-in-law, the twinkle of mischief back in her eyes. "One would think you would be too worn out after this morning's activities."

"Lorna!" Richard shouted, his face red as Elsie spluttered then buried her face in her hands and shrieked with laughter.

"Yes, Richie?" Lorna asked as she batted her eyes at him innocently.

Richard groaned and threw up his hands in defeat. "I give up!"

Elsie, still laughing, snuggled against him and gently patted his chest. "Ach, Darling. Calm ye self."

Richard shivered and rolled his eyes when his sister laughed at his reaction to Elsie's brogue. "Forget the tea. I'm going for a walk before I get myself into trouble," he grumbled before kissing Elsie's head and leaving the room, his wife and sister's laughter following him out.

Lorna looked at Elsie, a soft smile on her face. "You've been so very good for him, Lass. I was unsure of how things would go when you married because I wanted more for him that to just have a companion. Now I see a love like I always wished for him. Thank you."

Elsie's eyes watered as she smiled at her sister-in-law. "_He_ has been very good for _me_. I don't know where I would be if he hadn't asked me to live with him." She laughed at the memory. "I was shocked, and I think he shocked himself."

"Well, I know that he shocked himself because he told me. I was surprised, but after seeing the heartbreak in you, I understood. My little brother has always had a soft heart. You were hurting and he wanted to fix it."

Looking down at her rings, Elsie sighed, "And he has. So much more than just my broken heart."


	2. Part 2

**A/N: And here we have the second part that gives a bit of a look into Richard's past with his first wife; you'll even learn her name. Thank you for the love you've given this little tale so far.**

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><p>Richard shook his head as he walked along the path that led into the village. His sister was as incorrigible as ever, the years not having dimmed her quick wit in the least. He blushed again to think she'd heard he and Elsie this morning, but a smile tugged at his lips despite his embarrassment.<p>

Lorna, he knew, had worried about him and his tender heart when he'd brought Elsie here to wait so they could be married. He knew that she had wanted the happiness she had with Sean for her little brother, something she was sure he wouldn't find with a broken hearted woman for a companion. He'd tried to tell her that he'd loved his first wife, that he'd been happy with her, but Lorna knew better. Knew that even though he'd loved Osla, he hadn't been happy because Osla hadn't been happy.

He remembered the first time he'd seen the girl with the strange name. At least, strange to him. He had been so young that he hadn't been able to say her name properly and so had wound up calling her O. The nickname had stuck, and he'd still been calling her that when he left to go off to study medicine, the promise to come back for her a whisper against her ear before he climbed aboard the train.

She'd been the cutest girl he'd ever seen, and had grown into a beautiful woman. She'd waited for him and proudly walked down the aisle to him on the day of their wedding. That was before she learned he would leave the city and a large practice to become a village doctor with a humble cottage. She had never liked being a doctor's wife, even while they were living in London, but at least she'd had the glam and glitz of the city to keep her occupied. Those things weren't available in Downton village. He could never seem to get her to understand that he couldn't live in the city after the war.

O couldn't understand that the noise of the city bothered him. That the smells were too much. He wouldn't, and couldn't, tell her of the horrors he'd seen. Wouldn't tell her how he needed the fresh air of a small village in the country to help him recover something of the man he'd been before all of the fighting and death. Lorna had told him he needed to explain, to tell his wife the real reason, but he just didn't seem to have the right words.

He knew she wouldn't understand, and he knew that he couldn't tell her of the horrors because she would have had nightmares and he loved her too much for that.

Looking up, Richard realized he'd walked through the village and quite a ways beyond. Rolling his eyes at himself and shaking his head, he turned around and started on his way back to Lorna's home. Deciding to take what he remembered as a shortcut, he began to whistle a Christmas carol wishing that Elsie was with him so he could hear her sweet voice in harmony.

Those thoughts brought him back to why he'd set out to walk to begin with. He shook his head. Lorna and her wicked sense of humor! If he hadn't left, he'd have embarrassed himself with his reaction to his wife's teasing. The beguiling creature!

Blinking in surprise when he felt something wet land on his nose and cheeks, he stopped to really paid attention to his surroundings and discovered it was snowing, heavily. Looking around, he realized he didn't know where he was. His vision was impaired by the snow and he cursed his wondering thoughts, telling himself he knew better.

RnE

Elsie stared out the window, the snow blocking out anything other than the swirls the blowing wind made. Her hand was against the glass, the cold seeping into her bones as she worried her bottom lip. Her man was still out there. Sean had returned saying he hadn't seen Richard. He had offered to go out again and look when the snow started, but Elsie had told him it would do no good for him to go out and chance having a wreck because of the weather, Matthew Crawley's death coming to mind at the thought.

Lorna had assured her that Richard knew the area, that he would be home soon.

Except he wasn't.

It had been an hour now with still no sign of Richard and the storm had gotten worse.

"Where are you?" she whispered then stared at the figure in the snow, beckoning to her. Closing her eyes and shaking her head, she thought to clear the snow blindness, but opening her eyes proved that her efforts were fruitless.

The figure was still there, and had gotten closer so that Elsie could make out that it was a small child, a lass of about four. As she was trying to convince herself that what she was seeing was nothing more than the snow playing tricks on her eyes, she heard a clear, melodic voice.

"Come with me," the tiny voice spoke in the Gaelic, the tones pure and sweet. "Come."

Elsie shook her head to clear it only to find herself staring into a pair of bright green eyes the likes of which she'd never seen before. Fighting the urge to try clearing her head again, she continued to stare at the small figure.

"You must come," the lilting Gaelic words drifted to her almost as if they were inside her head instead of being spoken aloud by the lass. "You must."

Her feet moving of their own accord, Elsie made her way to where her coat and hat hung by the door. Pulling them on, she didn't hear Lorna calling out to her, the voice of the insistent lass blocking out all other sounds. Somehow, without the lass actually saying, Elsie knew that this had something to do with Richard.

She had to follow at all costs.

Her man depended on it.

"Elsie!" Lorna shouted as the door banged open, the frigid air blasting snow into the room in a swirl. Shivering, she rushed to close the door, knowing that she couldn't go out, fighting the urge to follow her sister-in-law.

"Lorna whatever in the world?" Sean nearly shouted as he came into the room just as she managed to get the door shut.

"It's Elsie. She's gone out."

"Out? Out? Why would she do that?"

"I don't know. When I called after her it was as if she couldn't hear me."

"She was staring out into the snow too long."

Lorna shook her head at her husband as she helped him into his coat. "No. You know what Richard told me about how she was when he took her to the sea."

"Loran, Lass, ye dunna believe that." Sean whispered, knowing what his wife was thinking.

Lorna smiled indulgently at her husband. It was very endearing when he slipped away from his normally very proper speech, something he always did when he was overly tired or worried. "I do, but now's no time for that. You be careful, my man."

Sean nuzzled Lorna's cheek. "These bones may be old, but they still know what to do in a storm. You go call for help."

Lorna watched him tie his scarf over his hat, under his chin, before opening the door and stepping out into the wildness of winter. "Please," she whispered as a silent prayer before turning to go and make the call he'd asked her to.


	3. Part 3

**A/N: And here is the final part.**

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><p>Richard felt like he'd been fighting to stay awake for years instead of just, he shook his head. How long had he been out here? Having left his watch at the house, he'd lost track of time. He'd been able to hobble along until he'd found a tree to sit under. His feet and legs had gone numb now, and he was sure his toes were close to getting frost bite, but with his leg in the shape it was from the fall, there was no way he could have kept going. At least he'd been able to keep his arms and hands moving about.<p>

He stared out at the blinding snow, his thoughts drifting to Elsie. She'd be worried, her teeth nibbling on her lovely lower lip as she was still wont to do even though he'd slowly been breaking her of the habit. He chuckled at the thought of Isobel's solution – lip rogue. She'd suggested buying some that didn't taste particularly good so that when Elsie bit her lip, she'd get a bad taste in her mouth.

That idea had gone over about as well as a cake made of dirt.

He'd been groveling for a week for that one. Isobel had been glared at several times over the course of that week as well.

He sighed. He was happier than he'd ever been all thanks to his beloved Elsie. He still felt at times as if she was part Highland witch. Some times he thought she might be a faerie. Other times, when she was being particularly mischievous, he thought she might just be part sprite or brownie. All he did know for sure, was that his wife was more connected to the world around them than even she realized at times, and most certainly more than he or anyone else he knew was.

He frowned as he stared hard into the swirl of snow in front of him. Blinking, he stared again, hoping his eyes would focus better so that he could stop seeing the small figure moving toward him.

Now was not the time to start having hallucinations.

Then he heard the tiny voice, a voice melodious and pure.

"Come! Follow me," the Gaelic words floated to him on the wind, though the face was turned away from him, as though the figure were speaking to someone behind them.

Letting his head fall back against the tree, Richard closed his eyes, sure that he was imagining things and worried for his well being. Even though he was no longer looking in the direction he'd seen the figure coming from, he could still hear the tiny voice telling someone to follow them, that they were almost there.

Lifting his head when he heard a voice he recognized, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at the beloved face of his lost little sister, Arabel. Her green eyes were bright, her tiny face as perfect and pale as he remembered. "Belle?" he whispered.

The lass grinned at her brother as she stepped closer and looked down at him. "I've brought her, Richie. We'll see you home."

Richard blinked in surprise when Elsie appeared before him. "Elsie!"

"Can you see her?" Elsie whispered as she knelt next to him, her hands brushing snow from his face.

"Yes. She's my baby sister."

"She's the Christmas lass."

"What?"

Elsie shook her head. "I'll explain when we're both home and warming by the fire. Can you walk?"

"With you help, maybe. My feet and legs have gone numb."

Standing and bending to help Richard, Elsie waited patiently to see if he would be able to move.

"Lean me against the tree and rub my legs."

Elsie did as told and rubbed his legs until she heard his breath hitch. "Darling?"

"I think I can walk now. Let's just try. I'd rather be inside when the feeling comes back completely."

Nodding, Elsie positioned herself under his arm and looked up at him. "Ready?"

"As I can be, but how will you know the way back?"

Elsie nodded toward the still figure watching them. "She'll guide us. I'm sure once I left the house, Sean followed me as best he could."

"And Lorna will have called for help."

"We'll meet someone along the way."

"Let's go then. I'm in need of a good cuddle."

Elsie chuckled as they slowly made their way, the lass always in sight as she guided them back to safety.

RnE

Lorna stared at her brother and Elsie in relief. "How in the world did you find your way to him, Elsie? And how did you know where he was?"

"I didn't know where he was."

Sean frowned. "Then how did you find him, Lass?"

Richard pulled Elsie closer, her warmth warming him as much as the fire and the blankets of the bed they were snuggled up in. "It was Arabel," he whispered.

"Arabel? Richie," Lorna whispered. "You were seeing things. You know the tricks that snow blindness can play on the mind."

"I saw her too." Elsie's voice was quiet as she laid her head on Richard's shoulder.

"You must have seen pictures of her."

Elsie shook her head. "No. Richard has only told me the story of how it was her death that led to him becoming a doctor. Until he told me, I had no idea who the lass was."

"You said something about her being the Christmas lass. What did you mean, mo bhean?"

Elsie shrugged. "It's a story my grandmother told me as a child. She always said that a lass would appear at Christmas to guide me to help someone I loved. When I was little, I would look for the lass every Christmas, but as I grew older, I forgot all about the tale. Tonight as I followed Arabel, I remembered and began to wonder if Grandmam had really known or if it was just mere coincidence."

Lorna looked at Sean with a raised eyebrow then looked back to her brother and his wife. "I don't believe in coincidence, Elsie."

"Whatever it is, I'm just happy that Richard is home and safe."

Richard pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "What a way to spend Christmas."

Lorna winked and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see what's wrong with it. Your snuggled in bed with a beautiful woman."

"Lorna!" Sean scolded before Richard could.

"Yes?" Lorna asked, looking at her husband with an unrepentant look on her face.

Sean shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Behave and stop embarrassing Richard and Elsie."

Richard chuckled when his sister stuck her tongue out at her husband. "You would think age would have tamed her."

Sean shook his head. "It's only made her worse!"

"Hey!" Lorna protested.

Elsie laughed as she relaxed further into her husband. "Happy Christmas everyone."

Lorna looked at her sister-in-law and smiled. "Happy Christmas, Elsie."

Sean started to say something but stopped when he caught sight of a figure in the window. "Lorna," he breathed, recognizing his wife's baby sister.

"What is," Lorna started to ask then turned to look at what had her husband's attention. "Arabel," she breathed. "Oh baby." Her eyes filled with tears as she returned the lass' smile. "She's as beautiful as I remember."

Richard had turned to look out the window when Lorna whispered their sister's name. "I'd forgotten just how bright the green of her eyes were."

"She's beautiful." Elsie whispered, smiling at the young girl. "Thank you, Arabel, for being my Christmas lass."


End file.
